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Canadian Psycho In Custody; FaceBook May Allow Younger Users; A New Push To Free Zimmerman; Wisconsin Governor Facing Recall; Deciding Whether To Dump Governor; Largest Wildfire In New Mexico History; Air Tanker Crashes Raise Alarms; Official: Pilot Radioed In Plane Trouble; Sandusky Jury Selection Tomorrow; Tiger Ties The Bear; Prince Philip Hospitalized; Beacons And A Big Concert

Aired June 04, 2012 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much, Zoraida.

And hello, everybody, I'm Ashleigh Banfield, in today for Brooke Baldwin. And here's what we begin with.

A man dubbed the "Canadian psycho," he's been spotted in public and now he is under arrest. Canadian police are confirming that they have a man in custody they believe is Luka Rocco Magnotta. The cafe manager identified him at an Internet cafe and pointed him out to the police. Detectives in Montreal say they think he stabbed, mutilated and then mailed out body parts of his boyfriend, Lin Jun, seen here in this photo from C-TV (ph). You will hear from the suspect himself in just a moment. CNN has just uncovered this 2007 interview with Magnotta talking about being an escort and a stripper. And wait till you hear what else he has to say.

First, though, let's go to the scene live in Berlin where the arrest went down. CNN's Diana Magnay is there.

Diana, walk me through exactly what happened with this manager and how they closed in on this suspect.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ashleigh.

Well, it was the -- it was an employee here, not actually the manager himself, but he was behind the desk. And this man came in at about 11:30 this morning. And I've seen CC-TV footage of him. He's wearing a bomber jacket. He's got a pair of dark glasses on. And he just walked into the desk and we'll just show you a bit about this cafe.

Walked in down there. Apparently took his glasses off and said, misur (ph), Internet? And the employee said, as soon as he took his glasses off he recognized him. And he show him over to this space here, number 25. Sat him down. And then decided to sort of check to see whether it was the man that -- whose picture has obviously been all over the national press here in Germany. Realized that it was. Then tried to flag down police cars outside, because he said there are a lot of police cars that normally drive past here. And eventually did. They came in. All of that process took about an hour, though, apparently. Flagged down this car. They came in. Talked to the man who initially denied that he was who police were looking for. Gave a false name. But then finally, when they pressed him, he said, OK, you've got me, in English, and is now in police custody here in Berlin.

Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Diana, is there any truth to this idea that he was actually surfing websites of this crime -- essentially surfing websites of himself when he was spotted?

MAGNAY: This is what the cafe worker told me that he was doing, yes. And if you look at this spot, you know, it's a very open space. Anybody could walk past and look at what he was looking at. And I asked him, you know, did this man seem nervous? Was he worried that people might be looking at what he was surfing? But apparently he wasn't. He was very cool, very calm, very collected. Ice cold was the word that the man used to describe him.

Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: If you could stand by for just a moment, Diana, I want to just throw in right now the latest comments from the police in Montreal, who are saying that it was Magnotta's own vanity that ended up leading to his capture. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CMNDR. IAN LAFRENIERRE, MONTREAL POLICE: We said from the beginning, the web had been used for him to glorify himself and we believe that's the web that brought him down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So, Diana, what do we know about the process from here? Where is he being held? When will extradition, if it will be started, when will it be started. And then, when does Canada essentially get him back and start these -- start the process of a first-degree murder case?

MAGNAY: Well, apparently that extradition process is probably going to take around a week police said. They're now discussing with the Canadian authorities how that will proceed. They're still waiting for the fingerprints to be double-checked to make sure that it is that man that they say they believe without any doubt at all that it is.

And it's interesting that you should play that sound bite because, as I said, you know, this man was making no pretense. He was not disguised in any way. He wasn't worried who might be looking at him. And it really does appear as though it was his sort of lack of guise that did lead to his downfall. This was, of course, a man who was keen for attention, who had a huge digital footprint, who was then putting that video of the killing online. And it is, therefore, no real surprise, I suppose, that he was caught in this public way in this Internet cafe. And actually the police have just returned again. So I'll be going to find out what it is that they want here in a second, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Diana, as you're waiting on that, I do want to ask you about the mood. As I understand, where you are right now is an area that's frequented by students, popular among students in Berlin. And as we know, the victim alleged in this crime is a student of Concordia University back in Montreal. How are the people in that area dealing with what's happened in their community?

MAGNAY: Well, I mean, there's a huge amount of surprise. You wouldn't expect this man, who is searched for internationally -- Interpol issuing that arrest warrant last week to 190 countries -- that he sound end up here. So people are amazed. This is a predominantly Turkish neighborhood. The owners of this cafe are both Turkish. And they're obviously extremely surprised that this should be happening in their midst. This is a story that everybody in this country knows about. The porno killer, he's described here. And that is the words that cafe employee said when he stopped the police in the police car. He said, you know, there is somebody in here who I think you should speak to, the porno killer. And apparently the police initially were doubtful. Then they showed him a picture and they came in here and made that arrest.

Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Just remarkable. Probably a testament to the 190 countries that were on the alert when Interpol sent that alert out that they were looking for this suspect. I know you're busy, Diana, and that people are still, you know, processing that scene. So I want to give you some time to try to collect more information if you can. But thank you, Diana Magnay, live for us in Berlin this afternoon.

In the meantime, the French press has been calling him "the butcher of Montreal." He says he's more of a people person, though. CNN uncover a 2007 interview that Magnotta did with Naked News. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUKA ROCCO MAGNOTTA: Yes, you know, I really do enjoy my work. I get to meet new people at -- all the time. And, you know, I'm a people person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: "I'm a people person." That was Magnotta talking about his work as an escort. He said that he danced fully nude as a stripper but didn't enjoy that work so he went into the escort business. He also said, don't call him a hooker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAGNOTTA: I'm not standing on a street corner soliciting in any way. I'm not a hooker. You know like, you know, a car drives by, you know, you give them $20 or something like that. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

MAGNOTTA: You know. I -- I'm like mutually high end, high-class. You know, clientele who I cater to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

MAGNOTTA: And what they know, I don't really tell a lot of family and friends because, you know, stereotype that's associated with it, you know --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

MAGNOTTA: It's just not acceptable in our culture basically.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Well, later on, you're going to hear a lot more of this interview with Magnotta. What he says about his clients and why the man who's being dubbed the "Canadian psycho" says, everybody likes me.

Moving on. In London, the British are celebrating the queen's diamond jubilee, but her beloved companion is not feeling very well today. Prince Philip is in the hospital at this hour. We're going to have an update for you on his condition.

Plus, FaceBook wants younger users and suggests parental regulations. But are your kids already on the website and should they be?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: There is a whole lot more happening right now. It is "Rapid Fire." Let's go.

The talk master is quieting down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEAL BOORTZ: OK. Don't forget to listen to Herman Cain tonight to get an opportunity to take --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: You heard right. Veteran conservative radio host Neal Boortz says he's retiring and passing the torch to his colleague, Herman Cain, who recently, you'll remember, made a Republican run for president. Mr. Boortz is not doing quietly, though. Check this out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOORTZ: My last day on the air is January the 21st of next year, which is the day we inaugurate a new president. If it's Barack Obama, then I'm going to disappear into the mountains somewhere and come out after he has completely destroyed this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: WSB Radio says that Boortz has a syndicated -- or is syndicated on 200 radio stations and has 6 million listeners every week. Love (ph) Herman Cain.

Wisconsin voters about to decide whether or not to keep or dump their governor. Republican Scott Walker is facing a recall election after stripping away a whole lot of the collective bargaining rights for public workers in that state. He faces Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in tomorrow's special election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD DAWSON: Survey said?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Iconic sounds. Remember Richard Dawson, the longtime host and the original host of "Family Feud? His son has just announced that he passed away on Saturday in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer. Dawson hosted "Family Feud" from 1976 until 1985. And then again in 1994 and 1995. He is also remembered as Corporal Newkirk in the 1960s sitcom "Hogan's Heroes." My favorite of his roles. Richard Dawson was 79 years old.

Queen Elizabeth's husband has been taken to the hospital with a bladder infection. Ninety-year-old Prince Philip will miss the rest of the queen's diamond jubilee celebrations. He's going to be in the hospital for a couple of days yet, under observation. In the meantime, though, the party's still going to go on strong across London. Paul McCartney, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, all performing for her majesty with Buckingham Palace as the backdrop. Talk about a ticket. At the end of the concert, the queen is going to take to the stage and light the national beacon.

FaceBook looking to legitimize something that has probably been going on anyway for a long time, allowing children under the age of 13 to become members, right? Didn't you think they were already on there? CNN's Dan Simon is joining me live from San Francisco.

So, am I just a bozo or did I just assume every 13-year-old has a FaceBook page and learned today they weren't supposed to have a page and that FaceBook's doing something to make it legit?

DAN SIMON, SILICON VALLEY CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of them do already. Huge shocker, right? You know, the bottom line here is, FaceBook needs to grow its user base. Right now it has 900 million users. As we all know, it has a very lofty valuation based upon the IPO that we saw a couple of weeks ago. So it has to grow its user base and, as you mentioned, there are a lot of kids already on FaceBook. So, how do you tap into that in a legal way, if you will, and make some money off of them? They need to make some money off of advertising. And how do you do so in a way that's sensitive to parents and to the children in this cyber bullying era that we live in?

BANFIELD: So, what do they have to gain by all of this, other than what you were just mentioning, the monetizing part? Is there anything other than that, like goodwill?

SIMON: Well, I think there is some goodwill involved. Look, there are a lot of actually very good things on the Internet for children right now. There are a lot of educational apps for toddlers, tweens and teenagers. So might FaceBook do the same thing? But that's not really what's in FaceBook's strike zone. They're about connecting with your friends and already there are, as we've talked about, a number of kids already doing that. So how do you do so in a way that's legit? And one thing that FaceBook is reportedly talking about doing is connecting these kids to their parents' account so there are adequate privacy controls in terms of who you can friend and who you can't.

BANFIELD: But how good is it? I mean the technology that they're talking about and the parental controls, I mean is it good enough to silence the critics?

SIMON: I don't know. I mean in terms of the critics, I think there will be some who will say in no way should a child under 13 years of age be on FaceBook. What good can come of it? You know, wait till you're 13 and just get on.

I think, you know, the bottom line is, let's look at reality. Already there are millions of kids who are using this. So how do you do so in a straightforward way? I think that will be the ultimate challenge for them. They don't want to have a situation like you had with MySpace where you had, you know, predators going after some of these teenagers and you had a lot of ugly press. So what can FaceBook do? I think that's a big challenge for them. And, plus, you know, looking over their shoulders at the next earnings report, they have to figure out how to grow that user base. So this is one way of looking at doing that.

BANFIELD: All right, Dan Simon live for us in San Francisco. Thanks very much. Good to see you.

So he is back in jail, but George Zimmerman's attorneys are vowing to get him out.

And just a quick note for those of you heading out the door. You can continue watching CNN. Take me with you. Why not? On your mobile phone. Or if you're heading to work, pop up our signal on CNN's live desktop. It's a great little opportunity for you. Go to cnn.com/tv. All the stuff you need to know about it is right there, but you don't have to leave home without us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Attorneys for the man who shot Trayvon Martin want to free him from jail again. George Zimmerman's defense is expected to file a motion today for a new bond hearing. Zimmerman turned himself in yesterday. That would be round two after a judge revoked his bond. Prosecutors say Zimmerman lied about being broke at that first bond hearing when he actually had raised $135,000 online. Our Martin Savidge is in Sanford, Florida, where the shooting happened.

So, Martin, so many questions and so much of them have to do with the legalities and whether this was a miscommunication, whether this was flat-out lying, whether there's evidence to prove it. So why don't you start.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it sort of comes down to the Watergate test, which is the question of -- for George Zimmerman and his money -- what did he know about that money and when did he know it? And it's coming -- becoming quite clear now, as a result of the transcripts of that phone conversation, actually a couple of them between him and his wife, recorded before the original bond hearing, that George Zimmerman did know he had money and he was talking about it even though he told the judge later he didn't.

And then today we just had this posting that came up on the George Zimmerman legal website. And it says that -- you know, it was quite clear that Mr. Zimmerman knew a significant sum had been raised by his original fund-raising website. And then as to why he didn't discount it? "We feel the failure to disclose these funds was caused by fear, mistrust and confusion." Now, you can't underestimate the gravity of this because already Trayvon Martin's family, through their attorney, has been stressing over and over, you cannot trust George. If he lied about the money, what else is he lying about? This is Ben Crump talking earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR TRAYVON MARTIN'S FAMILY: It focuses everybody's attention to George Zimmerman's credibility. And, remember, his credibility is the main thing here because it is only his version of the facts that say Trayvon Martin attacked him. All the objective evidence suggest that he pursued and shot Trayvon Martin in the heart. And that is going to be a crucial, crucial issue, credibility, credibility, credibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: And they're already working on damage control from the defense side. And, again, referring to the website, it says Mr. Zimmerman understands that this mistake has undermined his credibility which he will have to work to try to repair. So, a lot of back and forth already. And we have not had George Zimmerman returning to court yet for that bond hearing. When it happens, it's going to be -- it's going to be pretty big.

BANFIELD: Well, you know, and I can't stress enough this credibility issue because, as Benjamin Crump suggested, it's really only Mr. Zimmerman's version because the two people -- there's only one alive. But what I find critical in this, Martin, and correct me if I'm wrong, before you even get to trial, you got to have a hearing on the "Stand Your Ground" law, right? And that's bench. Bench only. Judge, no jury. So credibility is everything in trying to get these charges thrown out.

SAVIDGE: Right. And that's why I think many people are really thinking, you know, if this was just an oversight on the part of George Zimmerman, and it's an extremely unfortunate one for his defense team. You know that they had an extremely bad day on Friday when this all came down the way it did, especially when you've got it on tape, as the state does, and they are going to release that tape later today, we believe, to the media. And you'll hear George and his wife apparently talking about the money that just -- that's what got the judge so angry. He heard it in their own words.

BANFIELD: And there's been little snippets of that, but not the whole transcript. But essentially is that what this boils down to, jailhouse conversations that everybody should know are recorded because there's a big old sign right there in the jail for both sides saying, everything you say is recorded, but the two of them were talking about, what about the money, that sort of thing?

SAVIDGE: Right. And Mark O'Mara says that he warned his client when he went in originally, when he turned himself in, don't say anything on the telephone you don't want to have recorded and the public know about. But apparently the family did not believe that this was criminal in any way. They felt that they had a right to talk about the money. But they apparently, according to the defense, didn't think the money was really theirs because it was raised for his defense. That's the explanation his lawyer gives.

BANFIELD: Ah-ha, it's always in the details, isn't it? If that website was being run by someone else and they didn't have access to it, then maybe that wasn't actual perjury. Maybe that wasn't a lie in court.

But what I also find fascinating is, if they're filing that motion today, that really opens the door for another set of, you know, folks walking up to the stand, putting their hand on the Bible and swearing to, you know, to tell the truth under oath. And that means Mr. Zimmerman and his wife could make another appearance, right?

SAVIDGE: Yes, exactly right. We would expect -- the last time she appeared via the telephone. I don't think the judge is going to settle for her phoning it in this time. She'll have to be there if she's called to testify.

By the way, the judge is out of town and unavailable for any hearing at least through Thursday. So it's probably not going to happen until next week at the earliest.

BANFIELD: Well, he'll have to cool his heals in a jail cell until then. Martin Savidge, great reporting. Thank you.

Political showdown in Wisconsin as the governor there tries to keep his job. How the underlying message could give Mitt Romney a big boost for November.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is fighting for his political life. Tomorrow, the Republican will either stay in charge of the state or suffer one of the worst indignities for an elected official -- losing in a recall election. As our Ted Rowlands explains, it all goes back to a bitter clash over union rights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michelle Ritt and John Radamacher are teachers in Madison. Craig Klumb is a teacher in Milwaukee. They are on opposite sides of the political showdown in Wisconsin.

CROWD: Kill the bill!

ROWLANDS: We met Michelle and John 16 months ago protesting at the state capitol. They were furious with then new Governor Scott Walker and his new bill to cut education funding and unions' collective bargaining rights.

MICHELLE RITT, SUPPORTS RECALL: Our lives were turned completely upside down. Emotions were raw. It was shocking.

ROWLANDS: Craig saw it from the other side. He thought Walker's plan had merit.

CRAIG KLUMB, SUPPORTS GOVERNOR WALKER: I think in the long term it will be good for the state and for education.

CROWD: Shame, shame, shame.

ROWLANDS: Despite weeks of protests, Walker's budget bill, known now as Act 10, passed. Craig says he's one of only a handful of teachers that supported it.

KLUMB: I'm scared, OK. But I think fundamentally what Scott Walker is doing is going to improve the state of Wisconsin in the long term and improve education in the long term.

JOHN RADAMACHER, SUPPORTS RECALL: I don't know of any teachers in Madison or anywhere who would want larger class sizes, who would want less resources being poured into the classroom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, POLITICAL AD: The difference is jobs.

ROWLANDS: Governor Walker is in a recall election against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. People in Wisconsin have been bombarded with political ads, largely funded by out of state interests, both pro and anti-union.

JEFF WAGNER, NEWSRADIO 620: Newsradio 620 WTMJ. So glad to have you with us.

ROWLANDS: Milwaukee talk radio host Jeff Wagner says the last 16 months have divided the state like never before. He says there doesn't seem to be any middle ground.

WAGNER: People are down to their last nerve. Everybody is just so intense about this. I mean you hear it from the callers. You hear this anger. And it's out there on both sides.

ROWLANDS: Wagner says at times the rhetoric has been ugly. Listen to how our teachers both blame the other side for getting out of control.

KLUMB: I've heard him referred to as a Nazi.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the other side, Governor Walker's side who comes in and does taunting and poking and trying to incite fights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Colleagues of mine make reference to Republicans and Tea Party types as barbarians at the gates.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Using the word Nazis, you know, yelling at my children, you're Nazis, communists, socialists.

ROWLANDS: The recall election is Tuesday. But whether Scott Walker keeps his job or not, the political battle over unions is far from over and other states are keeping a close eye on what happens in Wisconsin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Wow, those pictures are so memorable. Ted Rowlands joins us now from the capital in Madison, Wisconsin. It's been a while since we saw that kind of uproar in the state capitol building. But what's going on now? It seems quiet.

ROWLANDS: Yes, very quiet. There was a gathering here about an hour ago, a few dozen people. But it may be quiet in specific spots here. But I tell you, Ashleigh, everybody in this state has had 16 months of ads and they're divided. People are either for Walker or against him. They're expecting record turnout tomorrow at the polls.

BANFIELD: Well, I think Walker leads Barrett by what, 52 percent to 45 percent in the latest Marquette University Law School poll. So I guess the conventional wisdom would be, why not bring in the big guns? You know, this is the badger state, it's a swing state. Why hasn't President Obama shown up or will he?

ROWLANDS: Well, we don't expect him to. That's a good question. Bill Clinton was here over the weekend. But if you're the president, do you really want to enter into this?

This is an issue that's going on in a specific state and you bring up the poll numbers, does he want to come here and then eventually have his candidate, Tom Barrett, lose?

You know, we don't know exactly the reasoning, but there's no indication the president's getting into this at all.

BANFIELD: And I'm sort of curious about that because as I was looking back in the history of that state, Wisconsin hasn't backed a Republican for president since Ronald Reagan, in the '80s.

And the polling now, Ted, suggests that Obama's actually doing pretty well in that state, despite sort of the flip story for the governor. The governor is a Republican, he's doing well. But the president is a Democrat and he's doing well. ROWLANDS: Right, but then the question is, what's the impact of the last 16 months of this recall campaigning and more importantly, the $60 million that's come into this state, the bulk of it for Walker, opposing the recall.

And the bulk of it coming in from out of state, Republicans are hoping that Walker wins and wins big. They think that the groundwork that's been laid during this process will actually help turn this state red from where it is now, a big pinkish to blue.

BANFIELD: And in terms of the money because, listen, we follow the money for a living. And a lot of the fundraising, you have to notch that into Walker's camp because he's really been able to raise the most money for this campaign, hasn't he?

ROWLANDS: Absolutely. $30 million compared to about $4 million to $5 million from Barrett's side. And Walker's getting the bulk of that money from out-of-state donors.

Now out-of-state folks don't care about the general lives of Wisconsinites. That's not why they're pouring millions into this. They're doing that because they want to set the precedent here in Wisconsin and then transform this model into other states.

That is to basically destabilize unions. What they've done here in Wisconsin. It caused an uproar. But you look at those polls. It may be working.

If Walker is elected again, if he keeps his job and does it by a significant margin, this will be a huge win for those folks that pumped all of those millions of dollars into this state.

BANFIELD: Isn't that exactly why they say all politics is local, Ted? I mean, that's why people come in from the outside. Real quick question, you did mention that Bill Clinton was there. There have been some really big hitters on the Republican side that have come in, too, right?

ROWLANDS: Yes, Chris Christie was here and Bobby Jindal was here. Last week, we were here during the event where Walker had Jindal up for the day. Again, it's another indication of how the rest of the country is watching this and how the stakes are high.

The battle is going on in Wisconsin, but this is all a part of the overall nationwide war between the parties and between the union supporters and those who folks that believe the unions have too much power.

BANFIELD: Well, it looks quiet and pretty behind you, but I can hear the people already in your backdrop. So get out your proverbial flak jacket if you're going to stick around those parts. Ted Rowlands, thank you.

OK, another story for you here, election related. It's the purging of voter names and, yes, it has been happening in Florida. But it's just stopped, for now.

Apparently, elections officials have been going through names and eliminating those that they say are not U.S. citizens. Just days after the Department of Justice got involved, though.

We learned today that both Broward County and Miami-Dade County have stopped the process of purging the names from the voter rolls until further notice so standby on that one.

BANFIELD: Do you want to know what life is really like on the campaign trail? It stinks, let me tell you. But tomorrow, you got to join the CNN Election Roundtable with Wolf Blitzer and CNN's Best Political Team in the universe.

Submit your questions and you can get answers in realtime. It's a live virtual chat. It's going to be great. Don't miss it, CNN Election Roundtable, tomorrow at noon Eastern, sharp I'm told. It's Blitzer, just logon to cnn.com/roundtable, an easy address to remember.

Lightning, you never want to be near it. Look what it has done in New Mexico. A massive fire, the danger now that is facing these firefighters as more than 240,000 acres are ablaze.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: It is the largest wildfire in New Mexico's history. It is a monster and it is far from being contained. Hundreds of firefighters are working the fire lines, trying to stop the flames that have already scorched nearly 250,000 acres.

It was also a terrible weekend for crews who are flying over a series of different fires. Two pilots were killed after their water tankers crashed while fighting a fire in Western Utah right on the Nevada and Utah border.

And then in Nevada, look at these pictures, another air tanker having to make a dramatic landing after the left side of the landing gear wouldn't extend. Those guys inside are OK, thank God for that.

Chad Myers is in the CNN Weather Center. He's been tracking the progress of those who have been fighting the monster in New Mexico. How bad is this and what's the prognosis for the winds?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, I flew from Vegas to Atlanta on Wednesday and we could see the smoke and the fire from the airplane, just looking down. It was a tremendously large fire and so much is already scorched.

The problem today, the wind has shifted. Direction is blowing from the east and at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour, even in the fire lines. Now there's some benefit from the winds shifting direction.

And then you have a fire line that's almost blowing back on itself. But that's a very dangerous condition for the firefighters where think they the fire's going one way. Then all of a sudden the fire's blown back on them.

That's when you have to get the firefighters out of the way. They understand the wind direction change. The wind direction change can be a little bit of help.

And the pilots that lost their lives there in a Neptune P-2V plane this weekend, you know, the key is to get that plane as close to the ground as you can before you put that flame retardant down on the ground.

Otherwise, it just dissipates and doesn't do anything and sometimes mountains come up and it was a deadly weekend. They pulled all the firefighters off the line after that crash because they said, we can't let women and men work the fire lines after two men have just died.

It's going to be a windy day all the way from Vegas. There's a fire here. North of Vegas on the Salt Lake on the Utah/Nevada border. The fire that I could see here in parts of Arizona and also into New Mexico was all blowing off to the east, the smoke was clear.

It's evident on satellite. Today it's not going to get any better with winds blowing 50 miles per hour at times, probably some of these firefighters will probably actually get pulled off the lines.

There's nothing you can do with the winds going 50, the embers just spread. They hyperspread from one acre later, another fire gets started as the ashes get blown again. It's a very dangerous for firefighters to fight in conditions like this today -- Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Well, you know, you also can't control the lightning that may be coming in the next storm, too. These were started by lightning, you know, it's a real bomber.

MYERS: It's so very dry. Somebody just kind of test-firing a gun, the bullet ricocheted off a rock. That started a 15-acre blaze. They put it out. But that's how dry it is. Just that one little spark started another blaze

BANFIELD: Unbelievable. It tells you just how dangerous that is. People have to be very careful when they're out. I mean, throwing a cigarette out the window, just no way. Chad, thanks, appreciate that.

An American pilot and also passengers were on board that jet that crashed in Nigeria. We're learning more about the final minutes of the flight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: We are now learning that Americans were on board that plane that crashed into a neighborhood in Lagos, Nigeria. The pilot, who was American, radioed in that the plane was having trouble just minutes earlier. All 153 people on board that plane were killed and at least 10 people on the ground were, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK TONER, STATE DEPARTMENT DEPUTY SPOKESMAN: The consulate in Lagos is working both to notify the next of kin and also provide any appropriate consular assistance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: The death toll could rise, too, as rescue crews continue to search through the mess that's been left behind from this wreckage. The airplane was purchased from Alaska Airlines 22 years ago. A team of Boeing engineers is now on the way to Nigeria to help investigate this crash.

Jury selection set to get under way tomorrow in the child rape case against Jerry Sandusky. The former assistant football coach at Penn State is accused of sexually abusing ten boys. The judge ruled today that the accusers who testify must use their real names. The judge also said reporters will not be able to tweet or use any other electronic communication during this trial.

Curious to find out if you have seen this guy before, I have to roll some video for you and it might be someone you recognize. I'll give you a hint, his name is Tiger Woods. And he's back, baby.

It was the memorial tournament in Ohio. He not only won with a sensational chip from off the green late in the final round, he also tied the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus, awesome. And he also got a nice record of 73 PGA tour victories.

I know that video. It's somewhere back there in that giant room and I'm going to look for it and I want to bring it to you just as soon as I can.

In the meantime, guess what? Prince Philip, you probably saw him yesterday. He was in great form. Now he's not going to be escorting the queen to her jubilee celebrations tonight. He's gone to the hospital. Thousands of revellers are gearing up for a huge star- studded event. I'll give you the lowdown on where he is, why he's not going to be there and how it might change.

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BANFIELD: London's big party, Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee is officially under way. But the event is missing one very important consort, Prince Philip. The queen's 90-year-old husband has been taken to the hospital to be checked out for a bladder infection.

According to Buckingham Palace, he's going to stay there for a couple of days just as a precautionary measure so that they can keep him under observation. He is very sad about that.

But in the meantime, the band will play on in a huge way, thousands of people gathering for one heck of a star-studded concert celebrating her majesty's 60-year reign.

Imagine being in the same job for 60 years. At the end of the concert, the queen is going to take to the stage to light the national beacon.

Atika Shubert joins me now live from London. So first off, let me deal with the theory. The prince, that's really a disappointing story to hear that he's going to end up in the hospital for the next couple of days.

Does that change anything? Are they tailoring the event for the queen at all now that Prince Philip isn't able to be with her?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It doesn't change any of the schedule. But obviously it will have an emotional impact and his presence will be missed. He's clearly disappointed.

That's what a statement from the palace said earlier. Keeping that in mind, however, the scheduled events will go ahead. We don't expect to see any major changes.

BANFIELD: And there's one heck of a line up, this is an awesome concert. The words don't even lend the proper -- how do I say it -- ticket value to what these people are going to be able to see tonight. How many people are they expecting at this thing?

SHUBERT: There are going to be 10,000 people attending just with the tickets. Those people who did not have tickets, which are going to be thousands more are sort of outside of the Buckingham Palace grounds there in the park area. So it's going to be absolutely massive.

And you know those ticketholders, they were all chosen by national lottery. So it is going to be an amazing event. The artists were each selected for a decade of the queen's reign. We have Shirley Bassy, for example, coming in, Tom Jones, all the way to the present day.

We have, of course, Sir Paul Mccartney and Sir Elton John. So it is going to be fantastic and some American imports as well, Stevie Wonder is going to be at the concert.

BANFIELD: OK, so first of all, I knew about Stevie Wonder and Elton John and Paul McCartney, but I did not know about Tom Jones. I would have gotten on a plane and gone over there if I've known about Tom Jones. That's an awesome line up. Just quickly, was there any other way to get the tickets other than the lottery?

SHUBERT: No, that's it. But you can try and get through the massive crowds to at least hear some of the concert. But there's no other way to do it, unfortunately. But they did try to get as many people as they could inside. The fact that you could get it by national lottery is pretty cool, but obviously only a few people could get those tickets.

BANFIELD: It's nice in a royal state. Real quickly what's the story about the beacons being lit, not just there but elsewhere around the world, right?

SHUBERT: That's right. In fact, there are more than 4,000 beacons. It actually started in Tonga. We saw some in New Zealand, in Australia, some being with in South Africa and Kenya, and really throughout all the commonwealth countries across the world.

We'll see this beacon thing and the all across the U.K. and then the last one to be lit at 10:30 will be the queen. She's going to be dropping at crystal cut diamond into a little pod and that's what is going to going to light the national beacon here in front of Buckingham Palace.

So it will be a special event. One thing to point out, one of the beacons is going to be lit in Kenya. That's very important because that's where the queen was told that her father, George VI has died and that she was now the monarch. So will have special significance in each place where the beacon is lit.

BANFIELD: And it was the moment where she pledged her life to the service of that empire. That's the signature moment of her reign. So interesting to know and it does sort of seem a little bit, Atika.

Like the Olympics with the torch and also the royal wedding all rolled into one. People must be having a blast. I'm going to let you go. Thanks for your work. Appreciate it, Atika.

By the way, the celebration is marking 60 years of Queen Elizabeth. Tomorrow on CNN, join our own Brooke Baldwin who is fabulous with Piers Morgan in the flotilla coverage yesterday. She's going to be live from London for a royal extravaganza. That's tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. Everybody loves a diamond jubilee.

The MTV Music Award was where President Obama decided to target Hollywood and young people. And his target tool, Sarah Jessica Parker. She was inviting you and anybody else to join her and the president for dinner. We'll explain how it works.

And at the top of the hour, an international manhunt ending for a Canadian porn star who's wanted for a gruesome killing and then a dismemberment of the body.

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BANFIELD: Good news for Mitt Romney. More and more people say they like him, they really like him. But apparently still not as much as they like President Barack Obama at least if you're following the polls.

Our Joe Johns has got the polls. So what are the new numbers?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Ashleigh, the good news for the Romney campaign, yes, he is doing better now that his rough, tough primary race is over. But Romney still has a ways to go, according to the latest CNN/ORC poll.

Check this out. Romney's actually gone up from 34 percent during the primaries to 48 percent now. That is an increase of 14 points since February. The problem is Romney's still trailing president Obama who has a 56 percent favorable rating.

Apparently, the biggest gap between these two guys is among younger Americans. More than two-thirds of respondents under the age of 30 have a favorable view of the president. While only four in ten feel the same way about Romney.

Overall, President Obama is leading Romney by just three percentage points in the race for the White House, and that is within the margin of error, by the way.

BANFIELD: So let's talk about how that translates to money, if it does at all. I know that we had George Clooney on the left coast with a big $50 million fundraising dinner for the president.

And now we have Sarah Jessica Parker, big ad going out during the MTV Music Awards, saying, come on and have dinner with me and the president for three bucks. Do you expect to raise a lot of money with that?

JOHNS: Well, I guess so. I mean, you think about it. The Obama people are saying maybe this business model actually works. Now it is Sarah Jessica Parker of "Sex In The City" fame.

Not only throwing a fund-raiser at her house on June 14th, she's also holding a raffle for two small dollar donors to go to dinner. And she's recorded an ad talking up the fund-raiser.

And not surprisingly, she's already taken a little heat online from some of the president's critics. But that goes with the category when you step out of entertainment and into politics, that fund-raiser is scheduled to be co-hosted by the editor in chief of "Vogue" magazine and win tour -- Ashleigh.